When a football season goes south -- and UTEP left on that train a month ago -- there is a perception among its fans that life is worse here than anywhere, that nobody else could possibly have it worse.

Southern Miss has it worse.

UTEP comes into Saturday's game with a 2-8 record. The Golden Eagles, the reigning champions of Conference USA, are the only winless team in the FBS at 0-10.

The Miners have plugged in three quarterbacks in an attempt to jolt the 11th-ranked scoring offense in the 12-team league. Southern Miss has used four and is 12th.

UTEP hasn't won a road game this year and has one conference road victory in the last four seasons. The Miners are a four-point favorite in Hattiesburg, Miss.

The Miners have dealt with injury problems all year.

As for Southern Miss, "There are other things we have not done well, but (injuries) have been absolutely suffocating," first-year coach Ellis Johnson said.

"It's hurt our development. We lost all three tight ends to injuries. We can't use a lot of formations, it's an issue in our running game. It's been Halloween."

Every week it seems, UTEP coach Mike Price laments two or three key plays that cost his team the game.

For Johnson and Southern Miss, though: "We've made some steps, but there are 15 plays per game that are killing us."

That's the type of year it has been for the Golden Eagles.

Advertisement

Even before the season started, the proudest program in C-USA (560 victories in its history) knew it would be hard to build on last year's 12-2 campaign that included an upset of unbeaten Houston in the league title game.

Coach Larry Fedora left for North Carolina, the bulk of the offensive skill players graduated and the Golden Eagles had to start almost from scratch at quarterback.

In came Johnson, who was Steve Spurrier's defensive coordinator at South Carolina the previous four years. He didn't bring an ounce of luck with him, at least for this season.

REPORTER

Bret Bloomquist

Among quarterbacks, "the total completions coming into the season was one -- Arsenio Favor had a completion last year," Johnson said. "The rest of the guys had never completed a pass for a college football team.

"Even without the injuries, the quarterbacks were trying to improve, but the injuries have compounded everything."

Southern Miss has used four starters this year, and just as freshman Anthony Alford seemed to have the job secured, he injured a hamstring and a groin last week against SMU. He should be available against UTEP, but his strength is mobility and that will be impaired.

"We've got to get some effectiveness in the throwing game," Johnson said. "We've got a lot of experience up front, but we've got to be able to loosen them up."

The one area where the Southern Miss offense has been strong is on the line, where four starters return from the championship team, and they've tried their best to keep their chins up.

"Last year was a good season," guard Joe Duhon said. "This year, with new coaches, it's a new offense, a new defense and it's taken us time to adjust. It's been hard with a different quarterback every week. We just roll with the punches.

"We've come together and we'll keep fighting."

Indeed, the one positive Johnson takes from this year is his players' outlook.

"Through it all, the attitude has been pretty good, it's been super," Johnson said.

The Golden Eagles close the season with games against teams with two victories (they finish the season against 2-8 UAB), giving them a chance to avoid a winless season. They have plenty of hope, but they are also realistic.

"We're 0-10 right now," Duhon said. "We're an underdog in every game we play."

"There are two winnable games, but we've got to play better," Johnson said. "This team has a very, very small margin of error."

Bret Bloomquist may be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; 546-6359. Follow him on Twitter @bretbloomquist.